


Love Will Tear Us Apart (But We Won't Regret It)

by Ritsy



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, canonverse, ereri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-19
Updated: 2017-09-19
Packaged: 2018-12-31 05:41:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12125760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ritsy/pseuds/Ritsy
Summary: Eren Jaeger develops feelings for Corporal Levi, but out of a deep sense of respect for the older man, he keeps them to himself, not wishing to burden Humanity's Strongest with what could simply be a passing teenage crush. Besides, killing Titans leaves little time to romance an older man.Corporal Levi Ackerman knows how to keep his emotions in check, all for the safety and protection of mankind. He simply can't allow himself to be swept away in whatever attraction or fancy he finds himself feeling for a young Scout. That, and it would simply go against his moral standing to chase after someone with such an extreme age gap between them.However, with the loss of his squad and the fragility of human life once again thrown in his face, will he be able to sit back and never let himself experience what it truly means to be human before death takes him?To truly live a life with no regrets, sometimes you have to grasp onto whatever happiness you can find... and take a few risks on the way.





	Love Will Tear Us Apart (But We Won't Regret It)

**Author's Note:**

> Well, hello there, dear readers. This is a prologue of sorts. I decided to try my hand out at that type of story-writing. Let me know what you think in the comment section. Hopefully I don't disappoint too much.  
> Truth be told, I've been dying to write a Levi and Eren story that would be much more accurate to their characters (at least in my eyes), that would also fit into the canonical storyline. So this is my attempt. I hope you enjoy. Also, if you're regular readers, you'll find that two of my stories have since been removed, as I lost the drive and motivation to ever continue them, and I don't like to leave permanently discontinued works lying around. Maybe one day I'll give them another go, but for now, they're gone. They were only one chapter each, so they shouldn't be missed all that much.

_It wasn't supposed to be like this._ That was the only thought circulating inside of Eren's head from the moment his consciousness came creeping back up on him. Cold was seeping into his skin through his thin summer clothing from the uneven stone flooring, forcing an unpleasant shiver down his spine. As his skin prickled with gooseflesh, those seven words continued to taunt him, chasing each other around in a patronizing circle and sinking like a stone in his stomach until he felt physically ill. Had he any sustenance in his body, he would surely have heaved and retched until there was nothing left in his system. A heaviness the likes of which he'd never felt before was weighing down on his body, crushing him against the ground with the invisible weight. Eren felt himself being dragged down into the abysmal depths of an ocean of grief, his own self-loathing making it nearly impossible to draw breath.

He didn't want to believe the truth of these circumstances, and so he willfully kept his eyes shut tight in an attempt to drown out reality and bask in whatever comforts he could conjure up. Eren fantasized that he was resting upon a familiar, soft mattress in a tangle of limbs, snuggled up against a slim, toned chest and wrapped safely in strong arms. He imagined the way it felt to have his head pillowed against a firm shoulder, how it felt to have long, slender fingers carding through his hair as he drifted lazily. He could almost feel the soft peppering of featherlight kisses all along his jaw, cheekbones, nose, and over his eyelids in a gentle attempt to rouse him from sleep.

Eren was praying so hard that that would be the reality that he opened his eyes to, that he wasn't really stuck in this waking nightmare. Unfortunately, the stiffness in his body, the pervading chill clawing and settling itself deep into his bones, and the uncomfortableness of stone digging into his flesh and keeping his senses all too aware of their surroundings shattered the illusion. There were no safe arms around him, no body to share warmth with. He was cold and alone.

Finally deciding to face reality, Eren peeled his lids back slowly, his eyes dry and gritty from disuse. His vision was blurred, and he had to blink slowly several times until his surroundings came into view. The first thing he noticed was that it was dark, the only source of light coming from a small oil lantern located near a large wooden door. It didn't do much for his sight, but it allowed him to observe at least some of the area. The ground was covered in dirty hay, a small mound of it shoved up in a corner. His eyes slid up to stare at what was in front of him, and the sight of large iron bars separating him from a small hall made his heart clench with anxiety. He was in a cell, much like the holding cell he had been held in when he had first been arrested all those months ago. Unlike the city, however, this place was completely filthy and showed years of disuse, with only the one lantern to provide any semblance of light. His captors must have brought it and left it there as a small courtesy. The pervading stench of mold and mildew only solidified his assumptions that this place rarely saw use. A complete opposite of the city dungeon, it lacked any semblance of comfort; there was no bed, no sink, no blanket to warm him. At least the Military Police had the decency to grace a  _monster_ like himself with a mattress to lie upon. His gaze shifted even further, and he spotted a wooden bucket with which he could relieve himself, should the need arise.

Eren shifted on the ground, his body achingly demanding he get comfortable somehow, but it was an exercise in futility on the rigid stonework beneath him. He slowly sat up, wincing as his stiff muscles and joints protested and the movement, but from his new position he was better able to look around at his surroundings. The back wall was made of imposing stone, and to his left and right were more bars, separating cells from one another. Across the walkway, three more cells sat, empty. This was definitely a dungeon, but not one that he recognized. He wasn't in the capitol, and he certainly wasn't in the old, well kept castle that served as the base for the Scouting Regiment. Even his immaculately clean basement was more inviting than this place, posessing a certain homey warmth, though they were both most certainly underground; the lack of windows proved that much.

As Eren turned his head to try and make out more details, something cold brushed against his neck and he tensed. Tentatively, he brought his hands up, his fingers running along a thick band of cold iron. He looked down, observing a large chain leading down from his neck that he hadn't noticed before. His Caribbean gaze followed the length, head craning back until his eyes lit upon the stone wall, where the end of the chain was imbedded. He gave it a small tug, but the chain didn't even budge from the wall. He was leashed like a rabid dog, with no chance to escape. Eren's heart dropped into his stomach as a peculiar sense of misery and pain filled him; he was once again being treated like a  _monster,_ an uncontrollable beast that had to be kept under lock and key to be contained. 

Ripping his attention away from the wall, he looked down to assess himself. His knuckles were caked with dried blood, cracking and crusting away when he clenched his hands into fists. The thin beige shirt he was wearing was caked in old blood, forever stained and stiff. It stuck to his torso, and with a pained grimace, he peeled it slowly off of his skin, yanking out small hairs as he did so. The person who had beaten the shit out of him really hadn't held back, if the excess of blood was anything to go by. Luckily for him, his extreme healing capabilities had long since taken care of all of the physical damage his body had received. He still felt phantom aches where the injuries had been inflicted, and his mouth tasted tangy with old blood from where several teeth had been knocked out. Running his tongue along his pearly whites, he confirmed that they were no longer missing, having grown back in the time that he was passed out, but his gums still throbbed with the pain of the loss. 

Eren pulled his legs up to his chest and curled in on himself, wrapping his arms around his knees to hold them in place. What if they were just going to leave him here to rot away slowly and die? He wasn't sure if he'd prefer a quick death or a slow one, he just knew that he didn't want to be trapped here alone with nothing but his own mind for company. He'd go insane, with those seven little words tormenting him.  _It wasn't supposed to be like this._ No matter how much he thought that, it wouldn't change anything. This was the result of his choices and actions. He had to accept it.

The sound of fabric shifting and dragging over stone made Eren start. It was followed by a small, soft groan of pain that echoed off of the walls. The blood drained from his face, and as the seconds dragged by in silence, he strained his ears, wondering if he'd imagined the sound. Another small shuffle pricked at his senses, and he turned his head to the left, pinpointing the direction of the noise.

"Who's there?" he whispered, his voice coming out softer and more timid than he had meant it to. When he received silence as a response, he swallowed hard and tried again, raising his voice only slightly. "Hello?"

More silence, and then again, a sudden shift as someone pushed themselves up. He could vaguely make out a form in the left cell, the clinking of chain alerting him to the fact that they were in the same predicament as he was.

"...Eren?" a voice responded, low and raspy from disuse. It was a hoarse sound, but he recognized it all the same.

Relief washed over him; he wasn't alone, but it was quickly followed with and replaced by a sense of helplessness and utter sadness.

Tears brimmed up beneath his lashes, and he had to hold back a sob as the panic set back in. "Levi."

The Corporal dragged his knees forward, crawling almost broken over to the bars that separated them, his hand reaching out through them towards the younger male. Instantly, Eren shot across his cell, grasping onto Levi's wrist to press his cold digits to his cheek. He could no longer hold back the flood of grief, tears pooling and slipping down his face in rivers of sorrow. Sobs wracked his form as he leaned into the gentle touch.

"Oh, Eren," the older male soothed, his thin brows furrowing in an expression of grim discontent. "It's okay."

Eren shook his head, moving even closer to the bars to lean against them, desperate to touch his lover. He felt strong arms wrap around him as best they could with the interference, and he responded in kind. They held each other as Eren sobbed brokenly, his heart shattering in his chest. If this was how it was going to be, he would rather have been alone. He didn't want this for Levi.  _It wasn't supposed to be like this._

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. It's not okay. It's not. It wasn't supposed to be like this," he whimpered, his eyes shutting tightly against the onslaught of emotions coursing through him. "Levi."

His Corporal only shushed him and held him tighter, pressing soft kisses to his skin, anywhere he could reach, and wiping away the tears as they came. Eren's eyelids fluttered open, and he looked over the strong, normally stoic man in front of him. He looked like he had been bludgeoned nearly to death, bruises mottling his skin and dried blood caking his face and shirt. Though his expression was it's usual mask of indifference and boredom, his cool grey eyes were kind, and filled with resignation, sadness, and affection. They were always so expressive, and through them Eren could read the man like a book. He could see trace amounts of pain from his injuries reflected in their depths, and it only served to agonize him further.

They sat in silence for what felt like hours, Eren's sobs dying down to soft whimpers and sniffles, as they shared kisses and clung to one another like their lives depended on it. The Corporal cursed the bars separating them, wanting nothing more than to lie down and curl up with his young lover to offer him all the comfort that he could.

All too soon, the sound of footfalls marching down a staircase that led to the dungeon they were being held in arose, echoing menacingly the closer they got. Levi tightened his hold on Eren, his jaw clenching at the approach of their impending doom, and one small hand came up to cup the youth's jaw, guiding his gaze up. He stared into the beautiful depths of those turquoise orbs, etching every detail into his memory, his lips pressing together into a thin line. Eren took whatever comfort he found from the slate eyes that captured his heart, and though he felt panic licking it's way through his veins, his body remained relaxed, and a sense of calm washed over him. They were together, and that was all he had ever wanted.

At the harsh sound of a key sliding into the old lock and turning with a clunk, Levi pushed his face against the bars, capturing Eren's lips in a searing, passionate kiss. When he broke it, his low, smooth voice flowed out of him.

"Eren, I love you." His words were firm, leaving no chance for the younger man to doubt him. They held all of the truth and reverence in the world.

Eren gripped onto Levi's shirt, desperate to hold onto the only thing that could ground him. His blood ran cold as the handle turned, but he refused to look away from those piercing grey eyes.

As the heavy wooden door swung open, Eren pressed their foreheads together, his breath hitching as fresh tears welled in his eyes. "I love you, Levi. I always will."

It wasn't supposed to be like this, but they would face the coming storm together.

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize if there are any discrepancies or spelling errors, I typed this all out on my laptop and then had to retype it on my phone because my internet wasn't working. Even though I reread through it several times to fix shit, human error can always occur. Let me know if I missed anything, and what you think of this.


End file.
